


a push, a breath, frozen in time

by ktsushade



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Confessions, F/F, Flirting, Matchmaking, Sayo sacrifices poteto, lots of staring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:46:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21982384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ktsushade/pseuds/ktsushade
Summary: It was supposed to be a regular day out with her mom. Little did she know, walking into Hazawa Coffee would turn into a day that she wanted to never end.
Relationships: Hazawa Tsugumi/Hikawa Sayo
Comments: 5
Kudos: 160





	a push, a breath, frozen in time

This was the biggest mistake of her life.

As Sayo sat down, trying to keep her presence minimal, her mother plopped into the seat across from her with an excited smile on her face, picking up the small menu that was always on the table. 

They had been out shopping, all day long, and Sayo felt hungry, thirsty and exhausted. As they were coming up to the station near downtown, she suggested they stop by a place she liked a lot. 

“There is a cafe nearby that I enjoy going to. I’m sure you’ll like it as well,” she said as she opened the door. It was Sunday, the only day she knew a certain person wouldn’t be in - the perfect time to focus on selling the place to her mother. After all, her parents wondered where she went nearly every evening after practice, leaving with a good impression would get them off her back for a while. 

Little did she know as soon as she walked in, her eyes immediately directed themselves to the spot behind the counter. There, plating a few desserts on display with a heavy focus, was Hazawa Tsugumi. 

Sayo wanted to back out and run to the bakery and drag her mother home, but by the time the thought occurred to her, they were already seated by one excited Wakamiya Eve. 

“Tsugumi-san will be back to take your orders!” she said, dashing off to tend to another customer.

Sayo lifted her menu and covered her face, tilting her head to get another look at the counter. Maybe she was just seeing things, she thought. 

But as she stretched her neck to look over the menu, she was met with happy brown eyes looking right at her. Sayo hissed as she sunk back into the pretty pictures before her. That couldn’t have been her heart beating wildly, right? Of course not.

“Sayo-chan, what’s wrong?” her mother asked, blinking when Sayo slapped the menu back onto the table and let out a deep breath, flattening her palms against it. The woman narrowed her eyes, much like Sayo did when she was annoyed, which sent a cold shiver running down her spine. “I told you and Hina-chan to go to that optometrist last month. I’ll be booking an appointment for you two when we get home.”

Sayo flinched and bit her lip. So maybe she _did_ need to go to the eye doctor, but poor sight wasn’t why she felt the need to hide her face. “I-” she began to argue, only to fall silent when her mother gave her the darkest glare. Was this what the students at Hanasakigawa saw when she approached them to take their phones away?

“Hi Sayo-san!”

The shudders of fear turned into shudders of excitement as Tsugumi stood by their table, pulling out coasters and straws from her apron and gently setting glasses of water in front of them. “I didn’t think you would come on a Sunday! It’s a pleasant surprise.”  
  
“Ah… uh-huh,” she mumbled, feeling like an idiot as her mother’s head snapped to her. Sayo cleared her throat and shook her head. “My… mother and I were out and about, and I suggested we come here to rest for a while. Thank you for taking care of us.”

Tsugumi blushed and slowly pulled a notepad from her other pocket. “Of course! You and your family are always welcome here!” She then turned to Sayo’s mother and bowed. “Hello! I’m Hazawa Tsugumi, it’s very nice to meet you!”

“Hello Tsugumi-chan. I’m Hikawa Noriko, Sayo’s mother.”

Sayo choked in the middle of her sip, making them both turn to her. Her mother had a sharp stare while Tsugumi’s eyes softened in concern. 

“I’m fine,” she wheezed, patting her chest and covering her mouth with her napkin. Clearing her throat one last time, she was back to normal albeit red in the face.

“S-so!” Tsugumi said, pivoting the conversation and going back to business. “What would you two like?”

Sayo’s mother nodded, pointing to a french toast plate. “I’ll have this and the caffe mocha, please,” she said, sweetly looking up at Tsugumi as she wrote down the order. 

“Sure! And what about you, Sayo-san? The usual?”

“You have a _usual_ , Sayo-chan?”

Sayo wanted to bury herself - she might as well have already been two feet under. Why was it so embarrassing compared to when she was lone? “T-that’s… yes, Tsugumi-san. Except I’ll have the Irish coffee today, if you don’t mind.”

“Okay! Eve-chan should be coming back soon with your meals, so just sit tight until then.” Tsugumi gave them one last bow before she was off to the counter to hand her father the ticket. Sayo hadn’t realized she watched her the entire time until Tsugumi disappeared into the back, leaving her to deflate and lean back in her seat. 

The table budged just a little as her mother rested her elbows on it, leaning forward with a large, intimidating smirk. Sayo attempted to ignore it by closing her eyes and taking a long, slow sip of water, but in the end let out an embarrassed sigh.

“Tsugumi-san is a friend, mother.”

“Mhm. And yet Lisa-chan is still ‘Imai-san’ isn’t she?”

Sayo clenched her knee. She had no nails to dig into her skin and prove she was in lucid dream - but if this were a dream, she wasn’t so sure she’d pick this situation to be in. The underlying message in her mom’s sentence threw her for a loop. 

“The cafe is called Hazawa Coffee, isn’t it?” she said, trying to appear calm as she folded her hands on her lap. “It would be rude to refer to her as Hazawa-san.”

Her mother shrugged and let out a hum. “Maybe it would. But Sayo-chan, you seem very…”

Don’t say it, Sayo begged in her head, furrowing her eyebrows and only imagining what kind of face her mother was wearing. 

“Interested in her.”

“I am,” she blurted. Her eyes snapped open and she began shaking her head. “Not! That’s ridiculous.”

The tension around them grew thick, so much so that as Eve approached their tables with plates in her hands, she was visibly uncomfortable, like she was walking into a prohibited area. 

“Here you go! Sorry for the wait!” she said, forcing a calm smile onto her face. “Tsugumi-san said these were for you, too! On the house!”

Sayo wanted to scream in horror as a small plate absolutely loaded with french fries slid towards her. Her mother let out a snort that was far from subtle but covered it with a sip of water, and Eve looked between them in confusion before bowing and running off again. 

The cool air dripping off her cheesecake did very little to settle the sweat that was pouring out of her palms. No matter how many times she swiped her jeans, her skin wouldn’t dry, especially not when she locked eyes with her curious mother. 

“ _On the house_ , Sayo-chan,” she repeated, picking up her fork. “If you ask me, it sounds like you two are-”

“Friends, correct,” she interrupted, wanting desperately to see if Tsugumi was watching her from the counter. She did not have the heart to mention how this was a common occurrence; on any other day after practice, Tsugumi would slip a plate of fries her way when her parents weren’t looking. 

But for her to do it on a Sunday, with Sayo’s mother _right in front of her_ … Sayo wanted to know if Tsugumi was somehow punishing her for something. Was it her completely flat greeting earlier? 

“One caffe mocha and one Irish coffee!” Tsugumi’s sweet voice broke her train of thought, and Sayo couldn’t help herself from raking her eyes over her body from the end of her apron to her long and soft-looking eyelashes. 

Little did she realize, they watched the entire thing. 

“Thank you, Tsugumi-san,” she said quietly, if a little nervously. 

She wrapped her fingers around the handle and brought the rim to her mouth. It smelled sweet, considering it had no alcohol in it, and the chocolate smelled fresh and rich. As soon as it touched her tongue she nodded. The coffee was perfect, it all blended exactly as they should have. 

Tsugumi waited for her opinion as she always did, watching her with observant and soft eyes. Sayo could see her fiddling her fingertips. “It’s delicious, thank you,” Sayo said as she set the glass down. 

“I’m glad!” Her smile made Sayo’s smile grow a little more than usual, and she could feel the positive energy radiating off her. “‘I’ll leave you two alone now, but don’t hesitate to call us if you need anything, okay?”

Before Sayo could get a final word in she was off, leaving her alone to face her mother again. 

Except her mother didn’t say anything more and began to eat her french toast like nothing had been happening at all. While grateful, Sayo couldn’t help but feel on edge. Every clink of her fork hitting her plate, the tap of her mug as it hit the coaster, the ice in her water melting… the silence drew Sayo crazy. 

They finished and set their plates neatly on the side of the table to be picked up, and her mom scooted back as Sayo shyly pulled the plate of fries closer to her. 

“Sayo-chan, I’ll be right back.”  
  
“Okay…” 

As soon as she was out of sight, Sayo tossed two into her mouth and closed her eyes with a small nod. Still warm, crispy and only very lightly salted, just as she liked them. 

“Tsugumi! Take a 15-minute break!” her mother, who had appeared from the back, called. Sayo watched as Tsugumi finished wiping down a table before hurrying over to the front, followed by a quick turn of her head in Sayo’s direction. She looked down as soon as she was spotted watching them, sinking into her seat as if that would help conceal her presence. 

Sayo wondered where her mom disappeared to but didn’t have a chance to look around when Tsugumi was standing at her table, hands grasping each other in nervousness. 

“Um..! W-would you mind if I sat with you for a while?”

Without hesitating, Sayo gestured to the seat across from her. “I don’t mind at all. Please, sit,” she offered. 

Tsugumi sat where her mother had been, and Sayo instantly felt the welcoming air. Surely Tsugumi wouldn’t have minded if she stuffed three french fries into her mouth, was her thought as she did exactly that. The smile never fell from her face, and Sayo took a sip of water with the realization she had just acted like the rudest glutton in the world.

“I’m sorry,” she quickly apologized. Not knowing what else to say, she nervously pushed the plate of fries in the middle of the table. The silent offering made Tsugumi tilt her head before she realized what Sayo was saying. With a small laugh, she reached over and took three, just like Sayo. 

“It looks like you and your mom get along well!”

Sayo shook her head. “I’m not sure what’s gotten into her today, honestly. She usually isn’t like… Hina,” she said, cheeks going red as their fingers brushed on top of the fry pile.

“She’s really beautiful..." Tsugumi said with a low whisper. She bowed her head and stared at her lap for a few seconds, then lifted it, revealing a tomato-red face. “You… look just like her.”

Sayo’s entire body froze, mouth opened wide and fries just a few inches from reaching her tongue. She could feel the crumbs sticking to her face, but the look Tsugumi was giving her paralyzed every one of her senses. 

Tsugumi rested her chin on one hand while the other traced the side of her mother’s untouched glass of water, covered in fog. From her end of the table Sayo could just barely see what kind of pattern she was drawing until she set her finger down. Dazed as she felt, Sayo was extremely aware of how beautiful Tsugumi looked with that whimsical expression.

The clinks of the plates and utensils around them went silent as they stared at each other, like time had stopped just for them. Sayo completely forgot about the fries in front of her and felt her throat burn - what was her body trying to say?

Tsugumi placed her hand on the top of the glass with a small breath and began to turn it. Sayo could feel her heart beating even faster, and her stomach turning harder. When it was finally facing her, Tsugumi shyly placed her hands over her face. 

Drawn in the fog was the hiragana for ‘I like you’. 

* * *

Sitting at the counter with a fresh mug of coffee in hand, Sayo and Tsugumi’s mothers eyed each other, then eyed their frozen-in-time daughters. 

“I still can’t believe Sayo-chan had no idea,” Tsugumi’s mother whispered, dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “Tsugumi was on edge all day long waiting for you two.”

“She’s the easiest to read of my daughters, and Tsugumi-chan has been so obvious lately I couldn’t wait any longer…”

Softly, their cups clinked.


End file.
